


End of Holidays

by limitlessrose (shinealightrose)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Bittersweet, Donghyuck wanted it to be fluff, Holidays, M/M, Pining, Should have been fluff, Side Doyoung/Johnny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22074532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightrose/pseuds/limitlessrose
Summary: Taeil is a holiday guest, he's soft and indulgent, and Donghyuck wishes they were in love.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Moon Taeil
Comments: 20
Kudos: 121
Collections: NCT Rarepair Winter Bingo





	End of Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> Because I had to contribute to this!! I hope everyone enjoys it 
> 
> Tiles Cleared:
> 
> 1\. Fireside  
> 2\. Blankets  
> 3\. Candy Canes

Donghyuck hasn’t seen Taeil in exactly thirty-nine minutes. It’s not his fault he knows the exact time. It’s because his brother Doyoung has been screaming at Johnny about when to get the cookies coming out of the oven, and Donghyuck is sick to death of it. He’s been up to his ears in flour and little red sprinkles and candy-cane shaped gingerbread shaped cookies for… well, thirty-nine minutes. 

“Aren’t we done yet?” he whines, a little nasal because it’s been cold outside and allergies are a bitch. 

Doyoung raises one eyebrow. Then two. 

“You aren’t going to wait around for the peanut butter cookies to finish?”

Donghyuck purses his lips, just a spark of desire emanating from his taste buds. He loves… “I don’t like peanut butter cookies.”

That’s a lie. Johnny smirks over Doyoung’s shoulder. They all know it. But his brother must be just enough exasperated over Donghyuck’s lack of baking will to dismiss him. “Fine. But if I don’t get cookies done before dinner time, I’m telling mom it’s your fault for not helping.”

“Suits me,” says Donghyuck shrugging. He tosses his apron onto the nearest stool, ignoring Doyoung’s growl, and walks out. 

Mom and dad have been gone for several hours. Something about post-holiday shopping sales, but Donghyuck knows that’s barely an excuse. They’re most likely on a kid-free date, doing something lame like getting coffee and maybe… sharing memes over their phones like they always do when they think the teens aren’t watching. Adults are weird. 

Donghyuck yawns, shrugging off the thought of his parents kissing, and meanders through the house. It’s quiet outside of the kitchen where the sounds of oven banging and baking sheets flying begin to dissipate. Instead, Donghyuck trains his ears for the sound of anybody else. 

He’s not actively looking for Taeil… It’s just, Taeil is Johnny’s friend over for the holidays, but Johnny is dating Doyoung, and Donghyuck might, just might have a crush on the guy. It’s a hopeless cause and Donghyuck’s going to get his heart broken again, but. 

It’s not his fault. Donghyuck is home from his first semester of college, his first failed semester of crushes and one very, very short relationship with a guy who turned out to be a jerk. Donghyuck isn’t looking for love, necessarily. But Taeil has been super nice to him since he moved into the guest room next to Doyoung and Johnny’s love nest, and once… yesterday morning, Donghyuck might have bumped into him. Coming out of the bathroom. When Taeil was half-naked, his hair all fuzzy wet from the shower. 

Donghyuck isn’t weak. He just likes his men kind of soft. 

And Taeil is  _ just _ his definition of soft. 

He finds him finally, a whole forty-two minutes from the last time he saw him. Taeil hasn’t moved. He’s curled up in a blanket in the den which has doubled as a gaming room since the day his parents gave up the fight against video games. 

There’s a soft fire burning in the grate, a luxury Donghyuck loves yet hates to start by himself. Taeil is good at it though. It hasn’t burned down all morning, a testament to fact Taeil must have gotten up at some point to add another log to the fire. Right now, however, he’s back on the couch and reading a book, burrowed underneath the softest looking blanket Donghyuck has ever seen, a half-eaten candy cane laying on the table next to him. 

Without asking, Donghyuck throws himself over Taeil’s legs. 

“Ooff,” Taeil huffs. He doesn’t say anything else. Donghyuck, his face curled into the back of the couch, smiles. Taeil has been so nice to Donghyuck. Indulging him, quietly laughing at his jokes, letting him cuddle whenever Donghyuck complains that he’s cold. 

This might go down in flames. Or at the very least, soft embers. 

Because Donghyuck knows very well Taeil only sees him like a little brother. And that’s a curse he’s just going to have to live with. 

They only met a week ago and Taeil is just a guest. But the way he’s infiltrated the house and the family as if he’s always been there is something Donghyuck shouldn’t allow himself to dwell on for so long. He likes the way Taeil treats him though. So, so much. The way he makes him feel so warm, well-treated. Like a pet. But maybe, less animal-pet and more… no, he shouldn’t go that far. Taeil is several years older and has a life outside of Donghyuck’s childhood home. A life Donghyuck knows next to nothing about. For all that he knows, Taeil could have some lovely boyfriend or girlfriend out in the world. He doesn’t talk about it… 

And in the meantime, Donghyuck buries those ugly feelings somewhere deep and pretends they don’t exist. 

Instead, he whines. 

Taeil laughs. “What’s up? Are they done with the cookies yet?”

“No. Not even close. Why two dozen of each batch of cookies isn’t enough I don’t even know. It has to be four dozen. Or Six. It takes  _ forever _ . I can’t believe Johnny puts up with him,” says Donghyuck of his brother. 

Donghyuck wishes they had set up the Christmas tree in the den this year. It would be a nice addition to the fire and the cozy set up and Taeil in his fuzzy blanket patterned with happy looking Scotty dogs in bright red Christmas bows. 

But Christmas is over, and the New Year has already passed and all this is destined to end in much too short a time. It’s a happy illusion he’s allowed to linger. Kind of like his feelings for Taeil. 

“In my opinion,” says Taeil confidentially, “Johnny doesn’t mind at all.”

“Well,  _ I  _ mind,” huffs Donghyuck. 

“Because he’s your brother.”

“Well, yeah.”

Donghyuck scoots onto his back, dragging the blanket over his stomach and tucking his feet neatly under the bottom edge where they touch upon Taeil’s warm legs. The whole movement makes Taeil scoot as well until he’s very nearly hanging off the end of the couch with Donghyuck braced between him and the back of the couch. It’s cozy. Too cozy. Donghyuck sighs happily when he feels Taeil’s hand coming down to run through his bangs. 

“You look comfy,” says Taeil.

Donghyuck murmurs. 

“Any plans to today?”

“Besides avoiding cookie duty?”

Taeil laughs. “Besides that. Oh, definitely.”

Donghyuck shrugs. “I don’t know. Play some games. Take a nap.”

“Uh huh. And where are you planning to take this nap?” says Taeil.

Donghyuck stirs uncomfortably, worried that maybe Taeil regrets losing his alone time to Donghyuck’s pestering ways. The thought doesn’t dissuade him too much, however, when he says, voice small, “Right here?”

“Hmmmm.”

Taeil is leaving in two days, this Donghyuck knows. He has an aging grandma he wants to visit before the holidays are completely over. It’s not fair his brother gets to keep Johnny for a whole week. 

But then Taeil doesn’t belong to Donghyuck at all. Not like Doyoung and Johnny. 

Donghyuck prods him. “You didn’t say no.”

“To what? You napping?”

Donghyuck murmurs playfully and Taeil chuckles. 

He’s got a beautiful face. Donghyuck loves the look of it. The angle of his nose, softness of his cheeks, the rich jaw. Not the most handsome pair of lips he’s ever seen but… more than good. Donghyuck stares at him through his lashes, feigning his best little-brat-brother facade, and praying that it works. 

Something clenches in his chest. Taeil isn’t someone he should covet. If Donghyuck is smart, he’ll fantasize for a few more days and return to school refreshed and ready for love. He’ll start dating again and forget all about his brother’s boyfriend’s friend with the steady job and a life elsewhere. 

“Fine by me,” says Taeil. 

Donghyuck’s fantasies continue a moment longer when Taeil adds, “But with the way you’re lying I can get up any time and you’ll fall down and remain right where you are.”

Donghyuck pouts. 

Another facade, because the reality is that Donghyuck hurts. Even in jest, Taeil knows how to hurt him, and Taeil doesn’t even know he’s not just talking about them and this couch, this nap, right now. Probably. Hopefully. Donghyuck can  _ always _ hope. 

Taeil changes the subject. “You think they’re done with the cookies yet?” 

Oh yes, the cookies. The last of the Christmas cookies because Doyoung’s plans were bigger than the holidays. A safe topic of conversation.

Donghyuck shrugs. “I guess. Maybe.”

He’s wide awake, nowhere near to a nap. He wishes he were. If Donghyuck were to  _ actually _ fall asleep, would Taeil be so mean to him to leave him there?

Probably.

But Taeil’s hand is still dangerously close to the side of Donghyuck’s face, and when Donghyuck shuffles an inch closer to the back cushion, those fingers card their way  _ again _ through Donghyuck’s hair. 

He doesn’t moan. Doesn’t even make a peep. Suddenly, the situation is too real, too painful. Taeil has been nothing but brotherly, friendly. Indulgent, but not romantic in the least. Donghyuck’s seen him babying Johnny too in rare moments, which is hilarious, but not as fun as one would think. Not from Donghyuck’s perspective at least. 

“Should we go… check?” Taeil asks. 

Again, Donghyuck only murmurs. He doesn’t want to get up, doesn’t want Taeil getting up either but who is he to say anything about that. 

A different world opens up to him. One where Taeil doesn’t go anywhere and Donghyuck has nerves of steel. A world where he turns around, pushes up on his elbow and looks Taeil straight in the face. 

“I like you,” he’d say. 

And Taeil would stare at him for a moment, and maybe his cheeks would flush. He’d turn away and smile shyly. Donghyuck wouldn’t let him get so far. He’d lean closer and hesitate the barest couple of seconds with his lips inches from Taeil’s, until he gets the go-ahead. 

Taeil’s eyes will close, lashes fluttering, open again, and he’d smile. And Donghyuck would lean in the rest of the way, taste his lips, feel the moisture off Taeil’s mouth. And Taeil’s hand would find its way down Donghyuck’s head to the back of his neck. 

Donghyuck sighs into the kiss and adjusts himself over Taeil’s body, pressing down on his chest until their bodies slot together. The blanket falls off the couch but Donghyuck isn’t cold. He’s warm. So warm. And Taeil tastes like holiday magic and leftover candy canes until he tastes like someone else. He’ll taste like Donghyuck, he’ll taste like  _ them _ . 

  
  


“You said they were making peanut butter cookies?” says Taeil, interrupting his thoughts. 

“Uhm. Yeah.”

“I like peanut butter cookies. Want to go see if they’re done?”

He’s already moving, the blanket falling off his warmed body, falling onto Donghyuck until he’s all that remains on the couch. 

“I guess so.”

And Taeil is standing over him fondly, the sweetest smile on his face, lips pulled wide, and they’re dry and pink, a little bit chapped. Like they’ve never been kissed. 

“Maybe you want to take a nap first? I’ll go scope it out and come tell you later, hm?”

Donghyuck murmurs, barely whispers. “Yeah. Guess so.” 


End file.
